Elected officials deserve a raise

Pursuant to the San Diego City Charter, every two years the San Diego Salary Setting Commission makes recommendations on the salaries of the mayor and City Council members. Any modifications to existing salary levels are then made by the council. The current annual salaries for council members and the mayor are $75,386 and $100,464, respectively.

Earlier this month, the commission completed its biannual responsibilities. Our conclusion is that current salary levels, as well as the process for setting salaries, has resulted in an inability to attract a sufficient pool of well qualified and experienced candidates to these elected positions. This carries substantial implications for the future of city government.

The mayor and council ultimately make every significant decision for the city, whose annual budget makes it the largest entity operating in San Diego County. These nine individuals customarily work seven days a week, 10-15 hours a day, with no overtime pay. They do so at considerable sacrifice to their families and careers.

Our analysis persuaded every member of the commission that compensation for these nine positions falls far below the level of equivalent positions in the private and nonprofit sectors and far below the level that is needed to attract well-qualified and experienced candidates. We also learned that last year 3,431 city employees had earnings that exceeded those of the City Council members, most of whom had far less obligations and responsibilities than the elected officials. This group included the vast majority of firefighters and police officers, and approximately 30 librarians and lifeguards.

At current salary levels, candidates for these positions must either be independently wealthy, or be willing to live on an income far below what their skills and experience would command in the marketplace. We also unanimously concluded that the citizens of San Diego are not well served by perpetuating such a constrained pool of candidates for the legislative and executive leadership roles in city government.

The council has refused recommended salary increases since July 1, 2003. Over that time, the cost of living in San Diego has increased 21.3 percent. Further, council members and the mayor had previously received car allowances without having to account for mileage, with this compensation treated, by law, as earned income. That $9,600 per year car allowance can no longer be taken as income.

Adjusting council salaries for these two factors would require an immediate salary increase of $27,000 (more than 30 percent) just to make salaries equivalent to what they were in 2003. A failure to increase salaries by this sum since 2003 has effectively resulted in a substantial decrease in the compensation for these nine positions, all to the detriment of every San Diegan.

Based on the foregoing, the commission unanimously supported a significant adjustment to the salaries of council members and the mayor, with the intention of increasing the pool of qualified candidates to fill these leadership positions in our city.

Because of the current budget crisis, the commission recommended no raise for these nine positions in the fiscal year 2011. However, in fiscal year 2012, the commission recommends a 15 percent increase with the expressed intention that this be the first step toward a targeted salary of $175,000 per year for council members and $235,000 per year for the mayor. This level of compensation for the council would be only slightly higher than compensation currently provided to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Recognizing that there is a tremendous negative political perception attached to the mayor and city council taking direct action to increase their own salaries, the commission has also recommended that, at the earliest opportunity, the City Council take action necessary to ask the electorate to revise the City Charter to change the process for determining mayor and council salaries.

The commission unanimously recommends that any proposed charter amendment include a provision that salaries for the mayor and council initially be established at a level competitive with comparable private, nonprofit and government sector salaries. Salaries should be sufficient to attract the largest potential pool of highly competent individuals.

Any charter revision should allow for annual increases tied to indexes of pay for private, nonprofit or government sector positions of comparable complexity and responsibility.

We urge all San Diegans to put aside the political posturing that consistently dominates any discussion of political salaries. Our focus should be on attracting the best possible individuals to the candidate pool from which we elect the individuals to run our city government. It is in our collective best interest.

McMahon and Ottilie are the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Salary Setting Commission.